Lithogram. Livermore Volume XXXV, Number 6 June Livermore Valley Lithophiles Livermore, California

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1 S Livermore L OR M I VER E V A L L E Y LI T H OPH Lithogram I L E Volume XXXV, Number 6 June 2010 Livermore Valley Lithophiles Livermore, California Next General Meeting: Thursday, June 10, 2010 Carnegie Building, 4th and J Streets 7:30 PM Program: Show and Tell - see President s Message C.S.U.E.B. - Scholarship Presentation Next Board Meeting: Thursday, June 24, 2010 The SHOP, 7:30 PM Members are welcome to attend! Refreshments: Chris H. & Lanny T. Presidents Message: Hello everyone, Inside this issue: Presidents Message - Cont. Other Society Newsletters Info. New Fossils La Brea Tar Pits General Meeting Minutes 4-8 Mineral Safety - Do or Die Board Meeting Minutes 4-22 Nine Days In The Nevada Desert California Shows & Events 9 Field Trips 9 June may bring a break in the action for kids and teenagers, but it is a busy time for rockhounds: June Field trip to Austin, Nevada area to collect green and purple fluorite, snakeskin agate and blue chalcedony. Open to all CFMS members and guests. June 11 is the travel day. Contact me early for details. June CFMS/AFMS Show at So. CA University of Health Sciences E. Amber Valley Drive, Whittier, CA. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. each day. Field trips follow the show: June 21 - Oceanview Tourmaline Mine ($50.00 fee) June 22 - Himalaya Mine ($50.00 fee) June 23 - Fossils at Ant Hill, near Bakersfield or Jalama Beach (Fossils, easier trip) June 24 - Lavic Siding, Mojave Desert or LA County Museum of Natural History (easier trip) June 23 - Alameda Co. Fair opens. Come see the society case Diane is entering for us. The theme is wine country, and you (cont. page 2)

2 June 2010 Livermore Lithogram, Page 2 may may still bring appropriate CALIFORNIA material to the next meeting for her to use. There are NO Lithophile meetings in July, but we will convene Thursday night (6 p.m.), July 22, at the shop to pack bags for the San Leandro Library Project. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Program for June will be Show and Tell. Bring something you have collected, aquired, made or experienced in the receint past to share with the group. Show off a little, all you shy shop and workshop artisans. And yes, there will be a new coffee pot to make life easier. Finally, if the last part of the May meeting s program, Darwin s Dilemma, surprised or confused you, you were not alone. You witnessed the modern Intelligrnt Design version of Creationism. Bob Trimingham, President President s Message cont. Other Society Newsletters All Newsletters from other societies will be on the Lithophiles ONLY Members Page. This page will be a SECURE PAGE. Please contact me for the information on how to get to that page. A Newsletter from Charlotte, NC has been added to our web site. There is a series of articles on, How to Photograph Minerals, Gems, Fossils Jewelry and Lapidary Material with a Digital Camera. The series starts with June 2009 and goes through May 2010 with several more months to come. I wish to thank the Editor and the Author from the Charlotte Club, Ron Gibbs for allowing us to use the articles by our society. Chipper s Chatter Chesapeake Gem & Mineral Society Baltimore, Maryland March 2009 via S.C.R.I.B.E. New Cache of Fossils Found from an article in the Los Angeles Times, Feb. 22, 2009 The largest known deposit of fossils from the last ice age has been found during construction of an underground parking lot near the famed La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Researchers from the Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits have begun extracting fossils from the sandy, tarry soil and expect the find to double the size of their current collection! Already unearthed is the nearly 80% complete skeleton of a mammoth, plus a huge cache of snails, clams, fish, gophers and plants. Because of time constraints, researchers are removing huge blocks of material and placing them in storage for later study. Carolyn Weinberger

3 June 2010 Livermore Lithogram, Page 3 Minutes of the General Meeting May 13, 2010 The May 13, 2010 meeting of the Livermore Lithophiles, was called to order at 7:31 PM by President Bob Trimingham. Guests: No guests were present. Correspondence: We had a variety of newsletters. Sunshine: Ellen Placas fell and broke her hip and arm. Please send cards. Minutes: Bob T. found one correction. The date of the San Leandro Library party should be August not April. The minutes were approved with this correction. Treasurer s Report: Diane is looking into setting up a second account. We will discuss this again at the next board meeting. Lithogram: Bill said he will use three pages in the June Lithogram to finish the article started in May. Bob T. is considering a 6 part series 60 years of mineral collecting. Each part will cover one decade. Shop Report: No formal shop report; everything is the same. CFMS Report: Bob Whiteside reported that the Show will be in Whittier, CA, June Bill B. and Dick F. will be exhibiting cases at this show. Remember Camp Paradise, 2 nd week, May Fair: Diane needs California material for our display at the fair. Lanny T. brought some stone grapes to use as decoration in the case and Bob brought lots of material, but Diane needs more variety for the case so give her a call. Also, the fair need more display cases in the gem and mineral building. Programs: Bob W. suggested a show and tell for the June meeting. Please bring something from your collection to share with the other members. Field Trips: Bob W. went to Agate Beach. He didn t see any other rockhounds. Diane D. went to Snyder s Ranch. She said the weather was good, but they didn t have the digs open, like in the past. Black Chasm: We are postponing the club trip until the fall. At that time we will try to add a trip to a mine in the Jackson area. Lithorama: Bill is working on the children s corner. Dick has organized the dealers and demonstrators. We need others to help. Dick has the form to invite guest exhibitors, but he needs to know how many members will be putting cases in our show. There are not too many shows left between now and September. Normally, half of the exhibiters are club members and half are guests. Roughly 28 cases are needed. We need a firm number of club members, so we will know how many to ask. Work Shops: Currently, none are planned. Schools: Bill B. contacted Pat Boyle about money to purchase books for the schools. Bob T. publicly thanked Bill for his work with the schools.

4 June 2010 Livermore Lithogram, Page 4 San Leandro Library: We will need to have a grab bag stuffing party to have enough bags for this event. Old Business: Bill B. got our business license. Bill gave the secret code to get into the members only part of the website. Call him if you need to know the code. With this feature, we can post the newsletters from other clubs again. New Business: none Refreshments: Chris H. and Lanny T. Program: The program was presented after the break and refreshments. The program was comprised of the second half, of the video, entitled Darwin s Dilemma which deals with the mystery of the Cambrian fossil record. Meeting adjourned at 8:57 PM. Acting Secretary, Chris Hunt Do or Die by Cathy Gaber Opal Express, Bulletin of the American Opal Society (Selected by Safety Chair, Aradasa Johnson) What you do not know about a mineral can hurt you. You cannot always tell by looking whether or not a mineral contains harmful elements, or if it is radioactive or if its fumes or dust might be deadly. Most minerals are completely harmless, but with a few simple precautions you can protect yourself from those with potentially deadly effects. Elements such as lead, mercury, arsenic, uranium, antimony and cadmium are toxic. Without proper identification, you can never be sure if you might be handling some of these potentially dangerous substances. Never lick an unidentified rock, and always wash your hands after handling one. Wear gloves if there is any suspicion that a specimen may contain harmful elements. Three methods can be used to spot some hazardous minerals. Color is one indicator. If a specimen is an unnatural looking neon yellow, yellow orange or green (such as tyuyamunite, autunite and torbernite), it is probably a radioactive mineral. Radioactivity, which is found in over 200 minerals, can be easily detected with a geiger counter. Even though most fluorescent minerals are not radioactive, sometimes fluorescence can be an indicator, as the radioactive agent (such as uranium salts) can be fluorescent. Generally, only long term exposure or ingestion would cause problems, but, as the guys at the Smithsonian say, don t put them in your pockets either. Radioactivity can affect fertility in men. Unless you work extensively with quartz, crystobalite, tridymite or quartz bearing rocks like granite; asbestos minerals (amosite, chrysotile, tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite and crocidolite); or coal, you are unlikely to be at risk for silicosis, asbestosis or black lung. The hazard from these and other minerals is in the airborne particles that get caught in the lungs or migrate to other areas of the body. Lapidaries should work in a well ventilated space, and they should be especially concerned with avoiding the fumes from working with materials like malachite, natural cinnabar and many shells. Wearing masks can help too. When working any new material, always check John Sinkankas Gemstone and Mineral Data Book for precautions and possible toxicity. Be safe not sorry. Ozark Earth Science Gem, Mineral & Fossil Club Mountain Home, Arkansas February 2009 Via S.C.R.I.B.E.

5 June 2010 Livermore Lithogram, Page 5 Minutes of the Board Meeting May 27, 2010 The meeting was called to order at 7:30 by President Bob Trimingham. Members present: Bob Trimingham, Delores Colonna, Diane Day, Bill Beiriger and Chris Hunt. Dick Friesen and Andrea Rodrigues joined the meeting in progress. Correspondence: We got our business license. Bill got a call from Cal-State East Bay asking if we would be giving the Brunton compass scholarship this year. After some discussion, Chris made a motion to purchase a Brunton compass for a student at Cal- State. Deloris seconded. The motion passed. We had a short break when some guests dropped in to have a rock identified. They were invited to join us at our June meeting at Carnegie Library. Treasury: Diane gave a report. Lithogram: Bill said he has things for the June Lithogram. He is looking at things for the future. Programs: June meeting will be a show and tell. Everyone should bring something that they can talk about. This can be something you made or purchased. Field Trips: Federation Show June There are several field trips planned after the show. This way they will not conflict with the show itself. Check the CFMS website for a list of all the trips planned. Lithorama: Dick brought the forms for exhibitors to enter our show. We still need someone to step up and handle the show. Fair Case: Diane is asking for California materials that go along with the wine theme for the Fair this year. San Leandro Library: The library is holding the party for good readers on August 14, We will need to stuff grab bags before that date. Bob suggested July 22, 2010, at the Barn. That is the board meeting night, but we will not have a board meeting. Old Business: Bill is getting new software to make the website secure. New Business: Bill found a new book on Agates and Jaspers. It is written by the same author that has articles on digital photography in the Charlotte, NC newletter. Bill made a motion to purchase a copy of the book for $40. Dick seconded. It passed with no opposition. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm. Acting secretary, Chris Hunt

6 June 2010 Livermore Lithogram, Nine Days In Nevada By: Mary Frances Berkholz Field Trip Editor Gems and Minerals Magazine May 1959 Page 6

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9 June 2010 Livermore Lithogram, Page California Shows And Events June 18, 19, 20, 2010, Whitter, CA CFMS / AFMS / NOCGMS SHOW North Orange County Gem & Mineral Society website August 7 & , San Francisco, CA San Francisco Gem & Mineral Society San Francisco Co. Fair Bldg. (Hall of Flowers) 9th Ave. & Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park Hours: Sat 10-6 Sun 10-5 Carleen Mont-Eton (415) publicity@show.sfgms.org Website: September 18 & , Stockton, CA: Stockton Lapidary & Mineral Club, Earth s Treasures 2010 Gem Show, Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 33 W Alpine Ave November 20-21, 2010 Livermore LITHORAMA 2010 Show and Sale, Livermore Valley Lithophiles Gem & Mineral Society; The BARN 3131 Pacific Ave. east of Livermore Ave. Hours: Sat. 10 5; Sun Visit us at our website The California Federation of Mineralogical Societies web page gives everyone access to the CFMS Newsletter. Field Trips Show information is available at the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies website: www. cfmsinc.org Additional Resources: American Federation of Mineralogical Societies website: American Lands Access Association website: CO-OP website: June 20, 2010 Spider Mine, rhodonite, SFGMS July 3, 4, 5, 2010 Petersen Pk (Hallelujah), Virginia City, NV, for quartz crystals, Sutter Buttes Club - contact, Gerry Hill

10 Livermore Valley Lithophiles Bill Beiriger, Editor P.O. Box 626 Livermore, CA We re on the Web at Elected Officers: Elected Officers and Club Information President Bob Trimingham (925) V. President Chris Hunt (925) Secretary Larry Patzkowski (925) Treasurer Diane Day (925) Membership: The Livermore Valley Lithophiles invites to its membership anyone genuinely interested in minerals, gems, lapidary, geology or any of the other earth sciences, and who desires association with others of like interests. Membership in our club consists of three classes: Senior, anyone eighteen years or older; Junior, anyone under eighteen; and Honorary. Dues are for the calendar year and are as prescribed in the bylaws, Article III. $25.00 per family, $20.00 per individual and $10.00 for Juniors (twelve and older.) Club Shop: The shop at the Barn is open to club members 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.. on Tuesday nights. If no one arrives by 7:30 p.m.. or if the Shop Foreman has not been informed a member will arrive late, then the shop will close at 7:30 p.m. Call Lynn Zirkle, Shop Foreman, at (925) Field Trips: Location and date will be published in the Lithogram. Bulletin: Livermore Lithogram. Published monthly and mailed or ed to active members and guests. News of interest, reports and articles must be received by the first Tuesday of the month. Articles may be reprinted by giving proper credit. Editor: Bill Beiriger, Livermore, CA , info@lithophiles.com Meetings: General Meeting Second Thursday of each month, 7:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Building, 4th and J Streets, Livermore. Board Meeting Fourth Thursday of each month, 7:30 p.m. at the Club Shop or to be announced in the Lithogram. Any special meetings or places will be published in the Lithogram. Shop open every Tuesday at 7:00 PM General Meeting June 10th at 7:30 PM Board Meeting June 24th at 7:30 PM